A/N: First of all, PsychoDude, sorry if you thought the chapter was too long/boring so that you had to skip bits. I happen to take a long time to get to the point because I feel the need to add description to my fics (too short chapters are something I personally dislike). Larchi, I chose a husky because I was watching something a few weeks ago, there was a husky in it and it was cute. Other than that, there is no real reason ^_~. Thanks to my two anonymous reviewers, VirgoDust, Little Alien, helly120, Spika Centauri, dreamaker13, Silver Dragonrider, shura and Draco's Girl.
Chapter 3
Hermione awoke early the next morning. Images from her dream had been playing back in her mind since the early hours and had made her feel uneasy. Her numb fingers gripped her coverlet firmly; she wanted nothing more than to spend the day in bed. She glanced at Draco, who was still asleep on the edge of her pillow. Then she remembered. I have to go to Diagon Alley with Hagrid today.
Pushing the quilt away from her body, Hermione stretched, cat-like, and forced herself to move from the comfort of the mattress. She walked over to the bathroom, and turned the taps. She watched the steady stream of water falling and yawned. I'd better look up counter charms later, she mused sleepily as she undressed. The sound of barking coming from her room informed Hermione that Draco had woken up.
Hermione reached up and rubbed her eyes before stepping under the hot water. The pounding water felt good on her aching muscles and she closed her eyes gently. The steam whirled around her, making her feel light-headed. Her eyelids began to feel heavy and Hermione fell into a semi-conscious state.
~*Dream*~
Pyramids. That was the first thing that Hermione recognised. Pyramids, and a lot of sand. What's going on? Unlike in the previous dream, Hermione felt detached from what was going on around her. She didn't feel a part of it as she had before. She shuddered, remembering the pain. The images of sand and stone faded, and were replaced by a dimly lit room. There were burning torches, painfully bright, mounted on the walls at regular intervals. Hermione heard voices, soft at first, then gradually getting louder. It sounded like someone was crying. As she got closer to the source of the sounds, she was able to make out some of what was being said.
'How can you say that?' whispered a girl's voice brokenly. Then Hermione heard a male voice. It sounded strange, stiff. 'You betrayed me. You will die.' The words were cold, uttered in a matter-of-fact tone.
Hermione was soon able to see the girl. She was chained to a wall and was looking down at the floor, her jet-black hair falling in front of her face and obscuring her identity.
'I didn't,' she cried hoarsely. 'I didn't. I would never – '
'Be quiet.' He spoke in the same cold tone. He stood directly in front of her, swathed in a black, hooded cloak. 'I saw you.'
There was a stony silence and the girl took advantage of the opportunity to speak. She lifted her head wearily, looking directly into his eyes, her hair still cascading across her features. 'I didn't betray you,' she said, more firmly this time. 'But you've made up your mind,' she continued sadly. She took a ragged breath. 'I want you to know, that even if you go through with this, I still care for you.'
The boy looked at her and stood in silence once again. Hermione watched him closely. He seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle, as if he couldn't bring himself to actually carry out his threat. She looked on silently as he seemed to shudder, and then grimly advanced on the girl.
He swiftly pulled a wand from his robes, extending it towards her. The girl looked up then, gazing at him with pleading eyes. Hermione recognised those eyes. She saw them every time she looked into a mirror. Stunned, Hermione turned back to the scene unfolding in front of her. The boy still had his back to her and as a result she had no idea who it could be. She watched horrified as he raised the wand and said, 'Avada Ke-'
~*Reality*~
The words were drowned out by barking. The scene faded and Hermione awoke to high-pitched whining. Draco, she thought. Hermione took in her surroundings. She had somehow managed to remain standing and the water was still running. Blinking rapidly she turned off the taps and reached for a towel. It was then that she realised that she was not alone. "Draco!" she yelled. "Out!" He looked at her with his head tilted to one side. "Out!" she said again, emphasising it by pointing to the door. Draco seemed to understand then, and he padded out of the room.
Hermione reached for the towel again and shivered as she wrapped it around herself. There was a draught coming in through the open door. She walked through the door, pulling it closed behind her. Drying herself thoroughly, she slipped into a comfortable skirt and a blouse. Hastily yanking her Hogwarts robe over the top, she pulled a brush through her hair, picked up Draco and hurried off to meet Hagrid.
"Allo Hermione," Hagrid greeted her cheerily. "Looks like we're off ta Diagon Alley then." Hermione struggled with Draco, who was squirming to get out of her arms. She gripped him more tightly and smiled up at Hagrid.
"Thanks Hagrid," she said. "For coming with me. And for taking care of Crookshanks," she added as an afterthought.
"Thas alright," Hagrid said. "It's good company for Fang."
The pair continued talking in a light-hearted way, as they made their way into Hogsmead. No one could apparate or floo into Hogwarts. That fact had been adamantly declared by Hermione many times and so of course, they went to the nearest Wizarding village to use a fireplace there.
Hermione followed Hagrid eagerly into The Three Broomsticks. It was getting close to the end of November, and it was very cold. Hermione smiled as Hagrid was greeted by all manner of people. "Hermione," Hagrid said. "Would ya mind terribly if you have ta wait a bit? I need to see someone about something," he said vaguely.
That sounds a bit ominous, Hermione thought. Outwardly, she smiled. "That's okay, I'll get a drink and sit down for a while." Hagrid moved away and Hermione ordered a Butterbeer, then walked over to an unoccupied table in a corner. Juggling Draco and her drink, she pulled out a chair and slumped into it.
She sat for a few moments, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere; there weren't very many people due to the time of day. She sipped at her drink, then locating a saucer, she poured some out for Draco. Hermione placed the saucer gently on the floor then lowered Draco down next to it. He drank it quickly, and then sat quietly. Hermione was surprised at how well behaved he was. Just then, he gave a soft growl.
"What's wrong?" she said softly, picking him back up. It was then that she noticed a shadow falling across her table. She looked up to see a man in a dark cloak.
"Talking to animals?" he sneered. "I thought you would have found one friend by now."
Hermione said nothing, but glared hard. What is he doing here?
"Cat got your tongue, Mudblood? Or dog is it?" Draco growled again, louder this time. Lucius Malfoy smirked. "So your puppy has more nerve than you. How… appropriate."
Suddenly Hagrid appeared at the table. "Ready to go Hermione?" he asked, pointedly ignoring Lucius.
"Yes, I'm coming." With that, Hermione picked up Draco and followed Hagrid to the fireplace. Taking the proffered floo powder, Hermione said clearly, "Diagon Alley."
***
"Ah," said Mr Olivander as Hermione entered the shop. "I've been expecting you. Need a replacement wand?" It was not really a question.
"Good morning," she greeted the old man politely. "Yes," she said in answer. Looking down a bit shame-facedly she added, "The first one broke."
"Hm." Mr Olivander picked out a wand immediately, seemingly at random. Hermione eyed it apprehensively. She waved it quickly and the air around her seemed to shimmer with light. Hermione let out a sigh of relief.
"I prefer it when I pick the correct one on the first try," Mr Olivander said. "It saves on repair bills." Then he said, "Dragon Heartstring, Willow, seven inches."
"That's nothing like my old wand," Hermione noted.
"People change," Mr Olivander said, watching her intently. "And so does the type of wand that they require."
Hermione was puzzled by his words, but she was in no mood for riddles. The encounter with Lucius that morning had set Hermione on edge. She did however suppress a giggle at the thought that Lucius didn't know his own son when he saw him.
~*Back at Hogwarts*~
"Glad we've got a free period," Ron said. "I've got loads of stuff to look through." Harry watched his best friend as he pulled out an enormous stack of books. Ron spread them out on the canopied bed and sat down amongst them. He picked up a thick volume at random and began to leaf through its pages.
"Where did you get those?" Harry asked, eyeing the pile of books.
"Well, I got the Wizarding books from Madam Pince and a couple from Hagrid." Ron paused for a moment, turning a page. "Neville lent me one that he borrowed from Professor Sprout."
"What about the Muggle ones?"
"I got dad to Owl them to me. You know how much Muggle stuff he's got lying around."
"Pig carried all those?" Harry asked, disbelieving.
"Yeah, but dad did a spell to make them lighter."
Harry watched Ron read a while longer. "You know, if you spent half as much time studying…"
"You spend way too much time with Hermione," Ron retorted. "You're starting to sound just like her."
Changing the subject, Harry asked, "You're not seriously going to try to train Malfoy are you?"
Ron looked at him deprecatingly, gesturing to the books littering his bed.
"But the Professor's will have changed him back by the time you get anywhere," Harry protested.
"We'll see," Ron said, a smirk lighting up his features.
Okay, that took a while. But I have a good excuse – I've had a weird viral infection for around a month and a half, so I haven't been able to get near a computer (been stuck in bed, far away from ff.net L ). Anyway, I know there's not a lot happening but as I've said before, I take a while to make a point. Review Please!
~*Lady Deathscythe*~